Do you prefer full set or blank ?

Blanks. I want to interpret a doll myself. It irritates me that companies rarely let you buy a doll with all resin props and items, like masks/wings etc, but without wig/clothes. If you want all the parts, you need to buy a fullset

 

Blank! Doing the faceup and making wigs and such is the best part of the whole thing for me. I have very clear visions of what I want, OCs I wanna have in physical form.

 

Right now, as long as I can have a faceup done then it doesn't really matter to much. I've been debating with myself on buying blank and sending it for faceups to an artist as a commission but I haven't done it yet. I don't think I want to get into faceups myself just because I'm not very good at makeup in general even on myself let alone a doll. But I may buy some pastels and do blushing myself in the future. I do enjoy buying full sets as well depending on how much I love the set.

 

For me the ideal situation is when you can buy the doll with faceup, but don't have to buy all the clothing and such if you don't want to. I have very limited funds for my hobbies, but I don't have the knowhow or ability to do a faceup myself.

 

Blanks forever. I’m currently practicing after my absolute love for Nichol’s Dreams (Andrea on YouTube). Once I’m comfortable, I am running to CP Fairyland for Coco & Luna RealFee (2023 ed.). But as an artist, and one with specific whimsical taste, it’s easy to say blanks forever. If I was more practical and worked like a normal person, I would probably save up and buy special editions with face-up, clothes, etc. until I found a trustworthy* artist I could partner with. Keyword trustworthy, and that usually takes time.

 

I don’t go for full sets generally but I do get company faceups. I want to have some redone by artists in time but I didn’t want to wait to send my dolls to an artist to enjoy them.

 

It depends on the full set, if it is something amazing and comes with a limited face-up then I'm all for it. If it's just a basic looking full set then I'll probably just going to buy the doll with the face-up and skip the extras.

 

Blanks, but there are exceptions, especially if I think I can reuse that outfit/accessories for another doll.

 

I prefer blanks. However, I will get a company faceup if I feel it matches the aesthetic of the doll I have in mind, especially since I'm still a novice.

 

I typically buy a doll along with eyes and a wig. If I like the faceup, I'll order with the faceup. If I don't like it or isn't suitable to the character I'll do my own faceup. I've only bought 3 fullset dolls. I just really have to like the fullset because most of the time I won't keep my doll in the outfit.

 

Tbh it really depends. Sometimes the make up just fits that's already there. I'm not capable of doing everything ever so I have no issue with a company face up. It's done by hand, it's done by an artist, so there's nothing wrong with buying it. But a lot of times I'll go "meh that doesn't look very good" and hit blank. Sometimes I'll go "oh this body is exactly what I need for said character!" And hit blank. Sometimes I just wanna experiment myself and hit blank. There's never one reason for either.

 

Blanks, definitely. I treat my new dorrie purchases as an open canvas to mold to the characters I have in mind. I'd even go as far as the frankendoll route if the body options with the head does not suit the said character.

 

I normally go for blanks. Sometimes the face-up looks to basic for my taste. I rather save some money and paint it myself.

 

This is such a nice discussion to have with with one another, it has been a treat to read other members' comments. Currently, my BJD obsession is sated by blank dolls. One day, I would love to be able to be in the position to buy an artist fullset as I like supporting their vision by being a client.

Fullsets are the ultimate creative expression for a BJD artist that often incorporates a one-of-a-kind face-up, body blushing, wig, accessories, and ensembles. Sometimes, the fullsets will even include like a modded feature or a resin color not offered with the blanks. This meticulous attention to bring a conceptual idea to a tangible doll creates a high price not accessible for many people. On the other hand, the blanks offer the collector the option to personalize the blank doll into their own "fullset."

There seems to be a trend with some BJD artists where they no longer offer add-on services like face-up and body blushing for their blank dolls. The only way to get the coveted artist face-up and body blushing is to purchase a fullset. In the past, there were a few fullsets that were available for sale that I would have loved to have purchased, but I am not in the position to spend thousands and thousands of dollars on one beautiful doll. Usually, the full sets from BJD artist range from anywhere from 4k to 10k where as full sets from companies range from 1k to 3k.

 

I like the idea of fullsets, just because of the convenience factor. I would be a little antsy sending my doll away to someone else for faceup, but I like the creative control of that option.

 

I always get dolls with company faceups, with the primary reason being that it leads to them being more cohesive IMO. Fullsets are a bit of a different story since I collect Volks, but I believe all applicable dolls I own were fullset when I purchased them I like to mix and match the fullset items after the "newness" wears off though, so I especially enjoy a fullset that allows for this.

 

mostly i get blank dolls ,because i just love to customize my dolls and turn them in my own character. But i also have one fullset doll and i love him just as much

 

I prefer blank, mostly because I just enjoy the diy aspect of the hobby the most and don't want a pre-shelled character. It also helps me feel less precious about the doll so I actually end up engaging with them to my heart's content instead of just leaving them on display or in the box in the fear of chipping the paint. As for outfits, I'm not that much into fantasy or cutesy styles, making most stereotypical full sets not really appealing to me (and casual things I can just make myself). I guess the only accessory I would consider getting the whole package for would be the shoes but those are usually available separately anyway

 

A full set is not worth it to me simply because I haven't found a doll in which I loved everything about the set. So in the meantime, I prefer something in between...a doll that comes with a face up, eyes and wig, but otherwise is "blank" for me to build a character.